Economy of Wilkonia
Resources and Sectors The annual GDP of Wilkonia is roughly 6.1T (ROB) as of 2015. This is principally centered on pharmaceuticals, heavy manufacturing/mining, agriculture and fishing, financial services, and general retail services in descending order of percent of GDP. The island is home to the largest silver deposits yet discovered while also having major iron holdings. Chromium, bauxite, copper, and zinc are also net exports though in lesser amounts. Oil is not readily available on shore though offshore drilling has produced enough to supply the naval trade and defense needs of the island with more being brought online currently, natural gas exploration concurrent with that means that Wilkonia is still a net petroleum products importer even though domestic production does continue to grow. Power and Transportation Electric power remains split into three major groupings. Coal-fired plants retain the largest share however planning has restricted plants to limited points and has imposed strict emissions curbs. Increasing numbers of oil, natural gas, geothermal, wind, and solar plants are coming online. Nuclear power is the second largest share of electricity produced though it is more prominent in the north than the south. Long-term plans call for a total elimination of coal-fired plants to be supplanted by nuclear, geothermal, and natural gas. Transportation remains largely by rail with relatively level gradients outside of the central highlands and certain costal bluffs regions. Intra-city transit is heavily reliant upon above ground light-rail and trolleys with inter-urban rail lines run by multiple companies. Private automobiles remain a common commodity mostly for the middle and upper class. Lack of natural petroleum products during the initial adoption of automobiles restricted infrastructure development. Combined with a continued urban-centric character for the lower-middle and lower classes dependent mostly upon public transit the automobile remains second in terms of passenger miles to all forms of rail combined. Principal roadways, however, are fully paved for personal transit and freight. Commercial and industrial long distance is handled almost exclusively by ship and rail while medium and short distance is the province of inter-urban and intra-urban short line railroads of which there are 27 operating in the nation (to go with 3 national rail companies). Long range planning calls for enough rail coverage to fully link all intra-urban lines in the South-Eastern quarter of the country by 2020; already it is possible to transit entirely in-system from Columbia to Laurel. All intra-urban and inter-urban transit lines are required to utilize a centralized fare collection system that allows individuals to place money on a stored value card and utilize it at any and all transit agencies. Government and Taxes The National Budget dedicates $460Bn to military expenditures with a total national budget encompassing roughly 23% of GDP (taxes on individual and corporate income amount to 85% of all tax dollars). The tax system is a progressive model with an absolute income floor based upon regional cost of living for individual and family incomes. The national government designates 22 administrative zones (commonly referred to as Districts) for tax and governance purposes. Within the given districts the National Revenue Service annually calculates the cost of living average for the district both for individuals and families. This value serves as the boundary point for the 0% rate; therefore all income up to the cost of living mark is tax-free. Thereafter the tax rate increases at 5% per 10,000USD annual, that is earnings between 0 and 10,000 over the COL are taxed at 5%, those from 10-20k are taxed at 10%, and so forth. This continues until 40k-50k over COL (taxed at 25%) after which the rate increases by 5%for every 5,000 over the COL thus 50k-55k is taxed at 30%, 55k-60k at 35% and so forth until the rate reaches 75% where it is finally capped (this is for incomes of 100k over COL and upwards). There are no exemptions or credits in the system excepting the minimum cost of living floor based on family size (The NRS calculates cost of living floors for individuals and families from 2-7 members which serves as the maximum floor). While there is no exception for charitable contributions in annual income there is in the estate tax system. As there is at 95% estate tax on all wealth passed to descendants above 100K this in turn has lead to massive grants upon death. Corporate taxes are structured similar to individual incomes however there is no COL floor but rather the tax rate does not climb faster after the 25% rate and the rate caps at 60%. For private companies they are taxed as individuals thus leading to greater incorporation rates and thus greater national monitoring (as all publicly traded companies must divulge annually the state of all financial assets and liabilities as well as compensation figures for all board and executive members). Category:Wilkonia